Doing business in an international market presents many challenges. One has to learn about the economic and political climate in the country, as well as the culture of the people. In setting up a WiFi service in Australia, one has to have a knowledge of the current laws and regulations which govern the information and communication technology industry. Australia is generally considered by most multinational companies as the best location for regional headquarters in the Asia Pacific region. In the field of information and communication technology, Australia has several strategic investment opportunities which mean that the WiFi service business is very viable. The Australian software industry and applications development is valued at A$27 billion. A number of multinational companies have regional facilities in Australia such as Canon, Citrix, Unisys, SAP, Cisco Systems, Sophos and CSC.
The economic climate for foreign business in Australia is favorable because it is one of the strongest, most competitive, open and flexible economies in the world. Companies which plan to set up a business in the country will benefit from the competitive prices of prime central business offices, industrial lands, transport infrastructure, low telecommunications cost and low cost of utilities. Their corporate tax rate is at 30 per cent which is lower compared to other major economies such as the US, China and Germany. Foreign investors stand to gain from the Australian workforce because they are skilled, multilingual and highly-educated, mostly having a tertiary qualification. The Australian government through the Australian Trade Commission (Austrade) offers incentives to foreign investors in the form of taxable grants and tax relief to the provision of infrastructure services at discounted rates. A positive political climate may be expected by foreign investors in Australia. The country’s system of laws and regulations are in place to curb corruption. Political violence is rare. Political risk is at a minimal level in Australia because their legal system is grounded on equality before the law.
One can therefore conclude that Australia is an ideal location to do business which offers foreign investors a wide array of opportunities for success.
Works Cited
Australian Trade Commission. "Information and communications technology (ICT)." 2013. austrade.gov.au. 12 November 2013 <http://www.austrade.gov.au/Invest/Opportunities-by-Sector/ICT>.
PricewaterhouseCoopers. "Doing business in Australia - An introductory guide." 2010. pwc.com.au. 12 November 2013 <http://www.pwc.com.au/legal/assets/GuideBusiness2011.pdf>.
U.S. Department of Commerce. "2013 Australian investment climate statement." 2013. export.gov. 12 November 2013 <http://export.gov/australia/build/groups/public/@eg_au/documents/webcontent/eg_au_063706.pdf>.
